Aviation safety bodies are considering making live streaming from aircraft
compulsory after second major air crash in five years

Airlines could be obliged to stream “black box” data to prevent it being lost in the event of an accident.

The disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 has reignited the debate over the possibility of live streaming of crucial flight data.

Traditionally air accident investigators have relied on data carried by flight data and voice recorders – known popularly as the “black box”.

But the limitations of the technology have been exposed by the frantic search for the recorders from the Malaysia flight MH370 and the time taken to find the recorders from an Air France Airbus which plummeted into the Atlantic in 2009 after leaving Rio de Janeiro for Paris.

There are fears that the MH370 black box may never be found because it will stop emitting a signal after 30 days.

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Those calling for this data to be stored in the cloud have included Oliver McGee, a former scientific adviser to President Bill Clinton.

Joe Kolly, the director of research and engineering at the National Transportation Safety Board – the American equivalent of Britain’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch – said discussions had begun on how to prevent crucial information being lost.

Other safety regulators and the International Civil Aviation Organisation – an arm of the United Nations – are looking at changes.

"You're looking for what is the most important information," he said. "If the airline industry goes to that in the future, what would be those requirements?” he said.

"We have our staff involved in technical meetings and discussions and working groups on just what type of data you would need.”

One opportunity for the industry to discuss the initiative will be at the annual summit of the International Air Transport Association at Doha in June which will be attended by the heads of the world’s major airlines.